Salavat wins Green Derby, Lokomotiv gets back on track. February 14 round-up

Friday’s big game saw Salavat Yulaev enjoy a Green Derby win over Ak Bars. Moreover, the 3-0 success in Ufa lifted Viktor Kozlov’s team into second place in the East ahead of today’s opponent. Later, table-topping Lokomotiv enjoyed a convincing win at Severstal. The Railwaymen improved after dropping three of the last four games, the Lynx missed the chance to climb to third in the Western Conference.

Derby win lifts Ufa to second in the East

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 3 Ak Bars Kazan 0 (0-0, 1-0, 2-0)

The sixth and final Green Derby of the regular season went to Salavat Yulaev. Friday’s 3-0 win lifted Ufa ahead of its rival from Kazan into second place where it is now just three points behind Traktor with two games in hand. Not a bad gift for head coach Viktor Kozlov as he celebrated his 50th birthday.

Ak Bars came to town following a heavy loss at home to Torpedo. In response, Anvar Gatiyatulin refreshed his team. Goalie Timur Bilyalov started in place of Amir Miftakhov, Nic Petan returned after missing five games and joined Kirill Semyonov and Dmitrij Jaskin on the top line. On defense, Konstantin Luchevnikov replacd Albert Yarullin.

The home team welcomed back Josh Leivo for his first game after missing the All-Star weekend. Semyon Vyazovoi got the start in goal.

In the first period, Yegor Suchkov generated some danger around Bilyalov’s net but rather overcooked his final attempt. Both teams had power play chances but could not convert. Although the home team was the more active on attack, the visitor was closest to breaking the deadlock when Semyon Koshelev hit the post.

The middle stanza was a more rewarding watch. Artyom Nabiyev opened the scoring in the 28th minute and after that, the tension mounted. Eric O’Dell got into a fight with Yaroslav Tsulygin. Ak Bars got stronger as the game went along and had a great chance to tie the game just before the intermission when Daniil Zhuravlyov timed his arrival in the O-zone to perfection but was denied by a great save from Vyazovoi. Tempers were still running high and, as the hooter sounded, O’Dell got involved in another dispute, this time with Mikhail Naumenkov.

The visitor tried to put things right in final frame, but instead allowed another goal: Danil Alalykin did everything to set up Dennis Yan to make it 2-0. And Ak Bars’ hopes of saving the game were hit late on with a penalty for Stepan Falkovsky, who was assessed a double minor for high sticking. The final word went to Leivo, who scored his 41st goal of the season into an empty net as he continues his pursuit of Sergei Mozyakin’s record.

Rampant Lokomotiv overpowers Severstal

Severstal Cherepovets 1 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 5 (0-1, 1-3, 0-1)

Lokomotiv’s charge at the top of the table slowed in recent weeks. Igor Nikitin’s team was the first to secure its playoff spot, but also suffered a run of three losses in four games – most recently a 1-3 reverse at Dinamo Minsk.

Severstal, meanwhile, is embroiled in the remarkable battle for position behind the Railwaymen. Starting the week in second, the Steelmen dropped to fourth after eight days of inactivity. However, with just four points separating second-placed Dynamo and sixth-placed Spartak, this is a battle that will run until the very end of the regular season.

Maybe that long rest counted against the home team, however. Severstal was caught early in the game when Lokomotiv had a three-on-one rush and Maxim Shalunov opened the scoring in the fourth minute.

However, the home team produced chances of its own in the opening frame: a couple of minutes after the goal, Danil Aimurzin rang the iron and subsequently Severstal enjoyed plenty of attacking possession. However, Lokomotiv played its usual solid defensive game and preserved its 1-0 lead to the intermission, allowing just six shots to get through to Alexei Melnichuk.

The game-breaking passage of play came after the middle of the second period. First, Severstal got on the power play but could not find a way to tie the scores. Then, back at equal strength, Loko scored twice in two minutes. Andrei Sergeyev scored his first goal since last year’s playoffs to make it 2-0, then Yegor Surin chased starting goalie Alexander Samonov from his net as Lokomotiv went up 3-0.

Late in the middle frame, Severstal stepped up its offense once more. Alexei Kruchinin saw a shot rebound off the post, then the next attack brought a much-needed goal when Ivan Podshivalov fired home a feed from behind the net. However, Lokomotiv immediately restored its three-goal advantage when Rushan Rafikov made it 4-1 just before the second intermission.

That goal was a big psychological blow to the home team, and Lokomotiv went on to wrap up a big win. The third period brought a fifth goal, created by some fantastic play from Alexander Radulov. He surged down the left wing and headed for the slot, but instead of finishing the counterattack himself, his deft drop pass gave Georgy Ivanov a shot at an open net with goalie Konstantin Shostak already moving in anticipation of Radulov’s effort.

In the closing stages, Severstal ran into penalty trouble and played three-on-five for 10 seconds as Lokomotiv got to close out a comfortable win with few alarms.